Last night I received a text message from Andy telling me to stop by Tracey Road Equipment because there was a huge Western Star on display with front fenders that had railings. I knew right then and there a 6900 series truck had been spotted. It was pitch black outside but I went anyway as it would be just my like that the truck would be gone the next morning. The darkness prevented an usable photos but through the light of my high beams I could see a 5th wheel and what appeared to be a setup for a roll off containers. Interest piqued! On my way to work this morning I stopped by for a few photos.
Railings on fenders indeed! The 6900XD is one of the largest trucks from a traditional Class 8 builder. In most cases this struck is strickly an off road performer and depending on engine options cannot be legally operated on public highways. Options include quadruple frame rails, planetary gearing, 100,000 lbs suspensions, AWD, twin steering, 28,000 front axles, and 600+ HP engines. I’m not sure what this truck has in terms of any of those choices but I’m good at guesses and conjecture.
Taking a walk around this rig I noticed this truck has twin steel fuel tanks but no DEF tank suggesting that under the hood a Detroit Series 60 engine resides. If I am correct this truck can definitely, never ever, be legally used on public roads. So where is it going? Good question but I have no idea.
The setup outback is a strange one to me. As you can see it has a 5th wheel while also rocking a Palfinger hooklift. I did some Googling and really couldn’t find much about it on either the Carco or Palfinger site. Some of the warning labels on this truck suggest a roll off looking trailer hooking to the 5th wheel? I’m not sure if the picture demonstrates a single phase of the operation or the end result.
The early morning sun was starting to break through and made shots of the rear end difficult but here they are. Hopefully this truck hangs around a bit so I can stop back when I have more time for closer inspection. If you know the purpose of the hook lift and 5th wheel let me know by leaving a comment below!
Hot damn! Now THAT’S a truck! 😀
this is their transformer truck. the 5th wheel set up on the back is to hook to a trailer.
the link below shows it in action pulling a SmithCo Side Dump trailer.
http://www.equipmentworld.com/western-star-unveils-a-real-transformer-6900xd-mbt-40-switches-between-dump-other-bodies-in-minutes/
I found this pic. Heres the link. One of these big boys in the wild
I found this pic. Heres the link. One of these big boys in the wild http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/dpearson.htm